Eliot Strange and the Prince of the People

Somewhere Between Stuart and Mount Airy (History Lesson 2/ Part 2)

Twenty minutes later an army truck with Joe, Leia, and Patrick rendezvous with a red jeep.

The army truck follows the red jeep for a few miles outside Stuart. Patrick and Leia tell Joe what they heard about Marla and Tommy.

"Not safe," says Leia, "but safe for now."

"If they want to trade them for the prince, they will be all right for a day or two," agrees Joe.

They pull off a side road and hide the vehicles back behind a barn. Handshakes and hugs are made all around.

"Who was the girl?" asks Joe.

"Her name was Beth," says Gus and then adds as he looks away, "I thought she was 23, but she was only 16."

"Brave girl," says Reginald who had been hiding in the back of the red jeep. "They caught her right away. Blamed her for the escape and strung her up so fast, there was nothing we could do." He places his hand on his son's shoulder. "Nothing we could do."

"How'd you get on the roof so fast?" asks Gus.

"We came last night, before the fight. Got here right before dawn. Set up and waited," replies Joe.

"Smart," says the senior agent. "Always good to have a back-up plan."

"I hit him," says Joe. "Don't know if it was fatal, but I saw blood."

They all nod and Leia says, "Good thing we had another plan. It was a massacre last night. Almost felt like they knew we were coming. We fought in front and behind of us."

"Survivors?" asks Patrick.

"Not many," says Leia and adds, "not sure."

"I need to find them, if possible. Otherwise, I'm a deserter," says Patrick. "They probably headed back to Dobson. That was the rendezvous point if there was trouble."

"I'd say there was definitely trouble. We were ambushed, It was like they knew where we would be," says Leia.

"They did know," says Gus. "I heard them talking. Thomas warned them you were coming."

"Wait, do you mean Mr. Thomas?" asks Leia. She looks at Joe.

"You mean the neighbor, Eliot's neighbor?" asks Patrick. "That Mr. Thomas?"

"Yeah, I met him before," says Gus looking at Patrick. "Nosey."

Joe only says, "I can't believe it, but we'll know when we get back. Can we get back? Is there a One Nation army between us and Mount Airy?"

"I don't think so," says Leia. The army behind us went back towards where they came from. I heard them saying they would all rendezvous in Greensboro. I think it's safe to keep going towards home."

"I'll head back with you then," says Reginald. "Make sure the prince is safe. Gus?"

"I'm going to wait a bit and head back. Check to see what is going on with the general. If his wound is not fatal, and I can get close enough, I mean to end this."

He says this with such resolve that his father does not try to talk him out of it.

"If I can, I'll warn you when One Nation heads your way," says Gus.

"No worries, son. I'll see you again shortly after I check on the prince and send a message to his mother."

Gus smiles at his dad, "Well, you do blend in quite well. I think it is because you really do look like a carpenter. I guess all that woodworking has paid off."

"Or all those years of undercover, maybe?" says Reginald.

There are smiles all around and then Joe asks, "Gus do you think you can get to Mount Airy tomorrow morning? Leave us word at Eliot's house. Do you remember where she lives?"

Gus clears his throat and hopes no one notices his blush. "Yes sir, I think I can find it."

"If I'm not there, leave me a message. Put it under the frog on the front porch. I hit him. I know I did."

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm Patrick," says Patrick who up until this point has not been formally introduced.

Joe corrects his bad manners by saying, "Yeah, this is Patrick, he's a kid who helped out back there."

Patrick smiles his biggest, perfect teeth smile. "I'm not a kid. I just turned 23. I been fighting with the army now for months. That was my company last night."

"Sorry to hear that, kid," says Reginald.

"Thanks for the rescue," says Leia smiling her most beautiful smile Patrick's way. "I don't know if I can ever repay you. You were quite brave. I felt like I was in a movie."

"Well, ma'am, like I said, it was nothing."

"Eliot," says Joe. " He's her boyfriend. Patrick plans to propose. Show them the ring, kid."

And Patrick shows them the ring, and they all pass it around and admire it because doing something normal in a time of turmoil makes people feel good again. They offer up congratulations, except Gus, who is understandably surprised.

The army truck and the red jeep depart and go in opposite directions. The army truck plans to head to Mount Airy and then to the farm/camp with the older agent Lancaster. Gus Lancaster stays behind in the red jeep. He pulls farther down the road underneath a tree and takes a nap.

Three hours later, Gus heads back to Stuart with the "information" he has found out about the prince's location. He hopes to find a dead or dying madman, if not, well there is more work ahead before he can return home. As he thinks about home, he daydreams about Eliot. Fiancé, huh, when the hell did that happen?